Chapter 20

19. Event Mail

Event: Growing Moon Candy Seeds

Moon candy is a tree that bears fruit shaped like the moon.

The higher the grade, the more colors of moon candy fruit it bears.

Show off your excellent gardening skills.

Grand Prize: 1 Golden Box. DP 3000.

Excellent Prize: 1 Silver Box. DP 1500.

Participation Prize: Moon candy seed. DP 10.

A giant pelican mail carrier sliced through the sky and flew into Taeju's garden. The mail carrier inserted a paper tied with a red string into the mailbox, gauged the direction to fly again, and then left the garden.

Hee was curious about what letter had arrived but decided to wait nicely until Taeju came.

*

As Taeju entered the garden, Hee flew over as if she had been waiting. She led Taeju to the mailbox, flying excitedly back and forth, urging him to hurry.

"Why are you like this? What happened?"

"Taeju, a letter arrived."

"Letter? You don't mean... Do we have to pay taxes on the garden?"

"Tax?"

"Ah! No. When you mentioned a letter, I thought of bills. Hehe."

He thought of credit card statements and tax notices, which he didn't handle directly, but his manager always took care of and sent to the accountant. Anything sent by fans was first reviewed by the company, so he only received such items directly.

Taeju laughed at his ridiculous thoughts and opened the letter in the mailbox. It was an old-fashioned letter, a rolled-up paper tied with a red string.

"It's event news. Growing moon candy seeds."

"Moon candy? Taeju, moon candy is very sweet."

"Should we participate once? It says if we tear up the application form, they'll bring us the seeds?"

Taeju tore the application form forcefully, and it turned into flames and disappeared. It seemed this was the way to apply.

"Taeju, it was a huge pelican."

"Pelican? Mail carrier?"

"Yeah. It was big and white."

While waiting for the mail carrier Hee had seen, Hee also browsed the shop's items, occasionally checking if a time sale had started.

"Meow."

"Really? Is that true?"

"Dan-dan."

"Sure. I'll tell Taeju."

While Taeju was browsing the shop, Taesan and Dan-dan were telling Hee something.

"Taeju, Taesan and Dan-dan said they went to the treehouse."

"Really? They've been going there a lot lately."

"Yeah. They found a big white feather there."

"White feather?"

It seemed there was a secret visitor who had come and gone from the treehouse. The presence of a white feather suggested that a winged visitor had been there.

'A visitor with white wings. Could it be an angel? No, probably not. Maybe a harpy or a pegasus?'

Kee-ru-ru-ruk!

'Here it is!'

"Hello?"

"Are you well?"

"Yeah, Hee is fine. Did you bring the moon candy seeds?"

"Yes, today there are many deliveries of moon candy seeds. All the pelicans are making deliveries."

"Wow."

While Hee was talking to the pelican mail carrier, Taeju slowly examined its appearance. The most noticeable feature was its large, white, fluffy wings.

'These feathers probably belong to the mail carrier, not a visitor.'

Although a bit disappointing, visitors were always welcome. Taeju approached the pelican and greeted it.

"Here are the seeds. And this pot. The pot and the moon candy tree will be automatically collected when the event ends. The moon candy is very sweet, so don't forget to taste it before then."

"Hehe. Got it. Thanks for delivering it."

Taeju thanked the pelican, trying to suppress a laugh at its unique speech. The pelican finished its greeting and flew into the sky, making a kee-ru-ru-ruk sound and flapping its large wings.

"Hee, there seem to be many other gardens besides ours, right?"

"Yeah, there must be a lot of gardens."

"Of course, there are countless people striving for their dreams."

Taeju still didn't fully understand what conditions he had to meet to obtain this dream garden. But now, he felt it was truly precious. It wasn't because of the things he couldn't see in reality. The connections he had made here with Hee, Taesan, and Dan-dan were invaluable.

*

The web drama's filming location was the building of G1 Entertainment, the agency that manages GTS. As befitting an idol-focused entertainment company, the entrance was lavishly decorated. The company logo, photos of affiliated entertainers, and album covers were displayed on the walls. The hallway featured vibrant graffiti of GTS members.

Taeju was passing through the lavish hallway with his manager, Kim Gyun-woo, and coordinator, Im Ina. When he first came for the audition, he was immediately informed of his acceptance and given a tour of the building.

Since the CEO was a former composer, G1 Entertainment had excellent recording studios. All the scenes where Taeju was producing were to be filmed there.

Actually, Taeju wasn't unfamiliar with such recording studio environments. Before the regression, he had recorded OSTs and even worked part-time as a guide singer. Although his role had changed from singer to producer, it didn't seem too difficult.

"Alright, the scene we're filming now is where you fiercely scold Eun-ho for repeatedly making mistakes."

Taeju listened carefully to the director's explanation, holding the script in one hand. He had memorized all the lines, but he always carried the script on set, a long-standing habit.

*

"Will I come back today~?"

"Again. Don't drag out the last note."

"Will I come back today."

"Again. Your pronunciation isn't clear enough today?"

In the recording booth, a young Tae was singing. However, there was a problem. He kept hesitating on the last note, missing the beat or slurring his words.

The producer, who had angrily taken off his suit jacket, ran his hand roughly through his hair and turned on the microphone to scold the recording booth.

"Is this a joke? Do you think I'll do everything for you? If you keep thinking that way, wake up. There are countless others who can take your place. If you're going to do it like this, get out now."

"I'm sorry."

"Last chance. If you mess up again, I'll report to the CEO. With your skills, you can't even dream of debuting. Got it?"

"Y-Yes."

The young man, pale with fear, nodded in response to the producer's scolding. The producer glared at him for a while, then gave instructions to the engineer, and the recording started again.

"Cut. Okay."

When the "okay" sign came, Taeju left his seat to monitor the recording. People instinctively made way for him as he passed, intimidated by his fierce demeanor as the producer. The actor playing the engineer, who had no lines, was seen wiping sweat.

"Good. Great. It felt so real, I almost felt like I was the one getting scolded. Haha."

The young director, satisfied with Taeju's performance, praised him with a joke. Taeju was quite pleased with his appearance on the monitor. The trainee he was acting opposite was a poor actor, which made his own performance stand out more. The trainee reacted well, drawn in by Taeju's performance.

'I can push it even further.'

Filming with someone who didn't know acting was a fun experience. It was refreshing to see a pure reaction to the emotions he displayed. Of course, if he were the one acting, he wouldn't tolerate being reduced to a tool by the other actor's emotions. But the trainee was a singer, not an actor. Although it was inconsiderate, he didn't feel guilty.

*

The day's filming wrapped up smoothly. The rest was up to the trainee. If they filmed for two more days, all of Taeju's scenes would be done.

The scene where Eun-ho, unable to master the song, asks the producer for guidance, and the scene where Eun-ho is taught separately and successfully becomes a member, were left.

Taeju intended to deliver the best performance in the remaining scenes. This was a minor role, but he had always believed in giving his best in any role, a principle he held even before the regression. This producer role was no different. He wanted to show the best performance, even in a small role.

After the monitoring, Taeju approached, and Manager Kim Gyun-woo draped a coat over him. The recording studio still had Eun-ho's solo scene left, so no one had left. Taeju's group quietly left to avoid disrupting the filming.

*

"The filming ended quickly. You said you've never acted before, but you did better than expected."

"Hmm. I don't think so."

Manager Kim Gyun-woo had noticed that the trainee's performance on set was not acting but a genuine reaction to the situation. Who would have noticed that he had taken control of the set and drawn out the performance?

Taeju was just 19, still a few months away from being an adult. Yet, he had made the trainee, who was not a professional actor, perform as he wanted, like a veteran actor. It was certainly impolite, but it was necessary when acting with someone who didn't know acting. The filming was likely to be difficult now.

As Manager Kim Gyun-woo predicted, the filming was facing difficulties. Eun-ho, who had successfully recorded the song, was struggling with the monologue scene. He couldn't deliver the lines properly, not understanding the emotions he needed to convey.

The director was frustrated that the performance from earlier, where the trainee had shown genuine confusion and struggle, was not being replicated. Now, he only saw a bewildered expression. It was infuriating.

*

The filming continued smoothly, at least for the scenes with Taeju. Taeju seemed to be letting the new actor unleash his emotions without restraint. But Gyun-woo knew that Taeju was actually pressuring the other actor to get the reaction he wanted.

When the filming paused, Gyun-woo expressed his concerns. Treating the other actor as a tool was quite impolite.

"It's fine. The other actor won't continue acting anyway. And you're the only one who noticed on set."

The cold response, that it didn't matter because the other actor wasn't an actor, surprised Gyun-woo. Taeju's bitter laugh at Gyun-woo's reaction suggested he had been more relaxed than usual. Gyun-woo didn't know how cold Taeju could be when his performance was hindered.

Before the regression, Taeju was a top star who hated wasting his time on non-acting matters.

At a film set before the regression, a minor actor was late for call time. Taeju, who had to be in the same scene, couldn't forgive the delay, which had made everyone wait for over an hour. It was a cruel act, but Taeju demanded the actor's replacement from the director.

When Taeju demanded the replacement, everyone was shocked. Some even doubted if they would fire someone on the spot, not in Hollywood.

The director hesitated, but Taeju called the production company in front of the minor actor and demanded his dismissal without hesitation.

Everyone on set was stunned. It was a stark contrast to Taeju's usual friendly demeanor with the staff. But that was Taeju's true nature. He had a simple but cruel principle: "If you hinder the filming, you're out."

This web drama was no different. He had no intention of wasting time accommodating someone who wasn't an actor. He thought it would be better to practice the script for "Busking" in that time. Ultimately, Taeju was able to finish the filming satisfactorily.